Effects of lower body positive pressure treadmill on functional improvement in knee osteoarthritis:A randomized clinical trial study

BACKGROUND Knee joint pain and stiffness are the two main symptoms of knee osteoarthritis(OA)and thus restrict a patient’s activities,such as walking and walking up and downstairs.The lower body positive pressure(LBPP)treadmill as one of the emerging body weight support system devices brings new hope for exerciserelated rehabilitation for knee OA patients.AIM To investigate the biomechanical effects and the subjective clinical assessment of LBPP treadmill walking exercise when compared with conventional therapy in mild to moderate knee OA patients.METHODS Eighteen patients with mild-to-moderate knee OA were recruited in this randomized controlled trial(RCT)study.The eligible knee OA patients were randomly assigned to two groups:LBPP and control groups.The patients in the LBPP group performed an LBPP walking training program for 30 min/session per day,6 d per week for 2 wk whereas the patients in the control group performed walking on the ground for the same amount.All patients underwent clinical assessments and three-dimensional gait analysis at pre-and 2-wk post-treatment.RESULTS The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index and visual analog scale scores in both the LBPP group and control group were found to decrease significantly at the post-treatment point than the pre-treatment point(LBPP:70.25±13.93 vs 40.50±11.86;3.88±0.99 vs 1.63±0.52;control:69.20±8.88 vs 48.10±8.67;3.80±0.79 vs 2.60±0.70,P<0.001).Moreover,compared with the control group,the LBPP group showed more improvements in walking speed(P=0.007),stride length(P=0.037),and knee range of motion(P=0.048)during walking,which represented more improvement in walking ability.CONCLUSION The results of our RCT study showed that the LBPP group has a greater effect on improving gait parameters than the conventional group,although there was no significant advantage in clinical assessment.This finding indicates that LBPP treadmill walking training might be an effective approach for alleviating pain symptoms and improving lower extremity locomotion in mild to moderate knee OA patients.

Research trends and development status of TCM network pharmacology: a bibliometric study

Objective: To analyze the research status, development context and trend of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) network pharmacology from birth to the present. Methods: In this study, bibliographic data and references of articles on TCM network pharmacology were collected from Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), and software including CiteSpace, VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel were applied for the bibliometric analysis of periodicals and the quantity of literature, and for the construction and analysis of the co-occurrence network of countries, journals, research institutes and authors, clusters of co-cited references, and time distribution network of keywords. Results: 249 articles were included in this study. The time span was from 2011 to 2018, and the annual volume of publications showed an increasing trend year by year. The 77 journals contain relevant literature, and the average impact factor of the journal is 3.215. Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines, Scientific Reports, PLoS One have high influence in the field of TCM network pharmacology. Universities and research institutes including China Academy of Chinese Medical Science and Northwest Agriculture & Forestry University are the major forces in this field. Wang Yonghua and Li Shao are authors with high influence in this field, with a considerable number of relevant documents and citations. According to the clustering results of co-cited references, research topics can be classified into 13 development contexts such as “compound danshen formula”,“computational tool”, and “new multi-compound drug discovery”. Hotspots of TCM network pharmacology include “drug discovery”,“mechanism” and “cardiovascular disease”, and relevant research methods and research contents including drugs and diseases tend to be constantly enriched. Conclusion: This study comprehensively demonstrates the research status, development context and trends of TCM network pharmacology, and provides a scientific reference for TCM network pharmacology researchers.

Exosomes promote the invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via an integrin-dependent manner in the spleen-deficient state

Background:To investigate the detailed mechanism underlying the pro-metastatic effect of spleen deficiency(SD)syndrome on hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods:In the present study,our model was established based on an HCC mouse model induced by diethylnitrosamine using reserpine to induce SD.Exosomes were isolated and purified from mouse plasma samples using an exosome isolation kit.Subsequently,we verified the pro-metastatic effects of exosomes from the HCC mice with SD on HCC cells by transwell assays,wound healing assays,phalloidin staining in vitro,and lung metastasis assay of mice in vivo.Finally,we further explored the detailed mechanism underlying the pro-metastatic effect of exosomes from the HCC mice with SD on HCC cells.Results:We found that SD promoted the malignant progression of HCC in mice.Exosomes from HCC mice with SD enhanced the invasion and metastasis of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo.Mechanistically,upregulation of integrinα1,integrinβ1,and integrinβ5 seemed to play a key role in mediating the pro-metastatic effect of exosomes isolated from the HCC mice with SD,which was largely abrogated upon co-treatment with a broad-spectrum integrin inhibitor.Conclusion:Our findings demonstrated that exosomes promote the invasion and metastasis of HCC cells via an integrin-dependent manner in the spleen-deficient state that would contribute to our better understanding of the role of SD in HCC progression in traditional Chinese medicine,and thus management of the disease.

Evaluation of a new frequency-volume chart for children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis:a prospective,comparative study

Introduction To improve compliance with voiding diaries in children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis(PMNE),a new modified 3-day weekend frequency-volume chart(FVC)was designed,and the compliance and validity of this modified FVC was evaluated by comparing with the International Children's Continence Society(ICCS)recommended voiding diary.Methods A total of 1200 patients with PMNE were enrolled in the study from 13 centers in China and were randomly assigned to record this modified FVC or the ICCS-recommended voiding diary.The primary outcome measure was the compliance,assessed by comparing the completing index and the quality score of diaries between two groups.The secondary outcome measure was the validity,evaluated by comparing the constituent of subtypes,micturition parameters and response rate to desmopressin.Results Among the 1200 participants enrolled in the study,447 patients completed the ICCS-recommended voiding diary and 469 completed the modified diary.The diurnal completing index and the quality score of the modified FVC group were better than those of the ICCS group.In addition,there was no significant difference between these two groups in the subtype classification,or in the response rate to desmopressin.Conclusions The modified FVC could be applied to obtain the voiding characteristics of children with PMNE as the ICCS-recommended voiding diary does and offers a reasonable and better choice for children with PMNE from the unselected population in the future.